Technical Field
The present invention relates to a drive device for controlling the drive of an electric motor.
Background Art
Electric vehicles have been increasingly widespread in recent years. An electric vehicle is equipped with an electric motor such as a three-phase AC (alternating current) motor as a source of power, a drive device such as an inverter for controlling the drive of the electric motor, and a host controller such as a VCU (Vehicle Control Unit) for communicating with the drive device to control the drive device. In response to an operation by the driver, the host controller generates various command values such as a torque command to be sent to the drive device (e.g., values representing the physical quantities of the output torque such as x[Nm]). In response to the command values from the host controller, the drive device adjusts the AC power to be supplied to the electric motor. In this manner, the running control of the electric vehicle is realized. The host controller also acquires various data stored in a memory of the drive device (e.g., data representing the current values of the output torque, revolving speed (the number of revolutions per unit time) and the like), to execute control for displaying various meters based on the data. This allows the driver to understand the condition of the vehicle.